Welcome

Welcome to Post #1 in a series about my and my husband's adventures, trials and tribulations, wins and failures while trying to pay off $86,000 in student loan debt on a combined $80,000 salary. My goal is to provide tips, inspiration, resources, and support as we go along our path to be student loan debt free (and maybe get some of that in return) all they while trying to live as normal a life as possible.

First, you should probably know a little about us and how we got ourselves into this mess. I am 28, Husband is 35. We've been married 7 years and we dated for 4 years before that. Yes, that means I was 17 when I started dating Husband; I don't recommend that for everyone, but it's worked out great for me. We actually met when I was 16. I have a friend who likes to tell this story to acquaintances but I get a little younger in the story every time she tells it. I'm currently 12 when I meet Husband in her version of the story.

But I digress. I come from a typical middle class family. I have 2 sisters; my parents are still married. Both my parents worked while I was growing up and I turned out fine. It was a good and happy childhood. I was not spoiled and my parents gave me a very good financial foundation to start from; my money problems started with college. When I was deciding on colleges while in high school I decided I was going to be the Greatest. Photographer. Ever. I ended up in a private art school and racked up the bulk of my student loan debt in the 2 years it took me to come to my senses. My parents did try to talk me out of it, but it was my mistake to be made. To add to that mistake, I was not exactly world wise at 18 (like most teenagers) and never thought to check the school's accreditation. When I decided to get smart and transfer to a normal state-run 4 year college, none of my credits from the art school were transferable and I had to start from scratch 2 years into my college career.

Husband is the oldest of 4 kids. His parents moved to the United States from Mexico when he was a baby. All of his siblings were born here. Husband's parents did not give him a good financial start. They, to this day, make one bad decision after another. Husband meandered through life (he always thought he had time to figure out his life; his sense of time is infamous in my family, I don't think he's ever gotten anywhere on time) and got serious just about when we were married. He decided the best way to get a good job was to go back to school (he'd previously gotten an AA, this was paid off long before we met) and so we found ourselves with an additional $30,000 in student loan debt. (In a future post I will discuss whether or not school was the correct decision in his situation)

I give you this history to show that it doesn't matter your history or your background, anyone can get rid of the huge albatross around our necks called student loans and finally have freedom.



Shannon C.